WCU honors Clay County school system partners

CAPTION: Western Carolina University Chancellor John W. Bardo (right) presents a replica of the Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Teacher Education Award to Scott Penland, superintendent of Clay County Schools, one of WCU's public school partners.

CULLOWHEE - Western Carolina University recently honored Clay County school system representatives for their district's help in preparing university students for careers in the classroom.

At Jan. 18 ceremonies in Asheville, WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo gave a replica of the prestigious national Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Teacher Education Award to each of the districts involved in WCU's school-university partnership. After the American Association of State Colleges and Universities presented the McAuliffe award to Western in October, the university decided to share that distinction and publicly thank all 100 partnering schools.

Accepting the award for Clay County schools was Superintendent Scott Penland.

"This award recognizes how much our school partners contribute to the success of Western's teacher preparation program," said Michael Dougherty, dean of the College of Education and Allied Professions. "Participating schools welcome our students into their classrooms and send their teachers to Cullowhee to share their knowledge with us. They are more than colleagues. They are our friends. We work together to help the children of Western North Carolina learn to high standards. And, together, we do that much better than we could alone."

Partnering schools in Clay County are Hayesville Elementary, Hayesville Middle and Hayesville High School.

The Christa McAuliffe Award is presented annually by AASCU, whose 430 member colleges and universities prepare about 50 percent of the nation's teachers.

"This award is named for Christa McAuliffe, who was chosen to fly on the space shuttle Challenger in 1986. She had been selected from among 11,000 teachers nationwide to be the first teacher - and the first private citizen- in space," Bardo said. "Because of her courage and dedication to the teaching profession, Christa McAuliffe's memory will live forever. Through this prestigious annual award, she continues to inspire and motivate educators and those who aspire to follow in her footsteps in classrooms across the nation."

The ceremony in Asheville was sponsored by AT&T North Carolina with support provided by Wachovia and AdvantageWest.

For more information about Western's teacher education program, contact the College of Education and Allied Professions at (828) 227-7311.

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